Deutsche Bank Championship:
With a stellar 6-under-par 31-34=65, world No. 5 Rory McIlroy erased a six-shot deficit in the final round to win the Deutsche Bank Championship on 15-under 269, two clear of overnight leader Paul Casey.
McIlroy reaps 2,000 FedExCup (FEC) points for the win, vaulting from 38th in the FEC standings to 4th.
With a Strength of Field rating of 731, he banked 74.00 world-ranking points, bumping him two spots from 5th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to 3rd.
This was McIlroy’s second week using the Scotty Cameron Newport M1 prototype putter. Last week at The Barclays, he ranked 77th (of 79) in SG: Putting (-5.600). This week, he was 7th (of 72) at 5.301. That’s a week-over-week improvement of 10.901 strokes.
McIlroy was No. 1 in total putts and putts per GIR, and also first in birdies, driving distance and par 5 scoring (see full stats below).
The 27-year-old claims his 12th PGA TOUR title in his 115th career start (114 pro), first since the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship (68 weeks ago), where he was the 54-hole leader by four.
It’s the fifth time that he’s come from behind to win on TOUR. Prior to this week, the most recent was at the 2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational where he came from three back, closing in 4-under 66 to win by two over 54-hole leader Sergio Garcia.
The victory comes in McIlroy’s 16th start of the season and is his seventh top 10, SIX of which are top 5s.
The only other time that he led this season (after ANY round) was at the WGC-Cadillac Championship (six months ago), where he was the 54-hole leader (by three) but closed in 2-over 74 for T3, his previous-best finish this season on TOUR.
The Ulsterman arrived off a T31 at The Barclays and a missed cut five weeks ago at the PGA Championship. Two weeks prior to that however, he was T5 at The Open and two weeks shy of that, solo 3rd at the WGC-Bridgestone.
This was the 10th playing of the Deutsche Bank in the FEC era with all 10 being contested at the TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts. The 7,297-yard par-71 layout (36-35) played under par in rounds 1, 2 and 4, and slightly over par in R3. The cumulative scoring average was 70.243.
Incidentally, this was the third straight year where the winning aggregate was 15-under 269. McIlroy got there with progressively better rounds of 71-67-66-65 (for 12.261 SG: Total).
Making his sixth appearance, this was his second win. The Northern Irishman claimed the 2012 edition in come-from-behind fashion as well, erasing a three-shot deficit with a closing 67 to win by one over Louis Oosthuizen.
Coincidentally, Oosthuizen was grouped with McIlroy in this week’s finale and shot even-par 71 for a seven-way T8.
McIlroy’s victory marked his third individual tournament win in the FEC Playoffs, joining Tiger Woods for the most all-time.
Eight players have two wins, five of which have advanced to this week’s BMW Championship: Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Billy Horschel, and Jason Day.
Speaking of the BMW Championship, McIlroy won the 2012 edition at Crooked Stick Golf Club (after winning the Deutsche Bank), site of this week’s playing. It’s the tournament’s first foray back to Crooked Stick since McIlroy’s win.
McIlroy kicked off with a disappointing even-par 71 (T67). However, after opening in par, bogey and triple bogey-7, he played his final 15 holes in blemish-free 4-under to get there.
Following a 67 in R2, he was T30 at halftime (seven back).
Only two players this season have come from further back (on the leaderboard) at the midpoint and won:
Brandt Snedeker: T57 thru 36 holes (eight back) before winning the Farmers.
Smylie Kaufman: T48 thru 36 holes (seven back) before winning the Shriners.
McIlroy’s third-round 66 ended with a tap-in eagle-3 (from 32 inches) – after nearly holing-out from 210 yards – to begin the finale in a four-way T7 on 9-under, six shy of Casey.
Playing out of the third-to-last threesome, it took him just nine holes to erase the deficit. He circled five birdies in a bogey-free first half, including three straight on Nos. 7-9 to go out in 31. Casey made the turn in 1-over 37.
After a par at the 10th for McIlroy, the leaderboard read:
T1- Rory McIlroy: -14 (thru 10 holes)
T1- Paul Casey: -14 (thru 9)
T3- James Hahn: -12 (11)
T3- Jimmy Walker: -12 (9)
He missed birdie at the 11th from 6’11” but banged home a 22-footer for birdie-3 at the 12th, his longest conversion of the day.
McIlroy missed another prime scoring chance at the 14th (from 7’0”), and then squared a lone bogey at the 17th on a failed sand save, but got up-and-down from a greenside bunker for a closing birdie-4 to post the clubhouse mark.
In the end, his 65 stood tall and matched Adam Scott for the low round of the day.
Scott climbed 19 spots on the leaderboard for a back-door solo 4th, four shy of the champion. It’s his seventh top 10 of the season in 18 starts, SIX of which are top 5s, including T4 last week at The Barclays.
Jimmy Walker, playing out of the penultimate threesome, shot 1-under 70 for solo third, three back. He entered the week off back-to-back missed cuts (Barclays, Wyndham), almost understandably after claiming his first major at the PGA Championship.
Of the nine players comprising the final three groups, only Walker and McIlroy posted sub-par rounds.
Casey limped home in 1-over 36 for a closing 73 (after opening in trip 66s). His runner-up finish is his sixth in 194 career starts. Two of those were last year, losing in playoffs at the Travelers Championship and the Northern Trust Open.
The Englishman’s lone TOUR title remains the 2009 Shell Houston Open where he was a 54-hole co-leader and won in a playoff. This week was his second career lead at the three-quarter mark and first lead this season after any round (20 starts).
He settles for his fifth top 10 of the season, eclipsing a previous-best T4 at the Masters, and jumped 49 spots in the FEC standings to 10th.
Winner’s Weekly Stats (ranking of 72 players):
Eagles: 1 (T3)
Birdies: 24 (1st)
Bogeys: 6 (T8)
Double Bogeys: 1 (T29)
3+ Bogeys: 1 (T65)
Par 3 Scoring: 2.81 (T3)
Par 4 Scoring: 4.00 (T55)
Par 5 Scoring: 4.00 (1st) * (TOUR-leader for season at 4.45)
Driving Distance: 312.9 yards (1st)
Driving Accuracy: 31/56 (T41) at 64.29 percent
Greens in Regulation: 53/72 (T18) at 73.61 percent
Proximity to Hole: 33’8” (T6)
Putts per GIR: 1.604 (1st)
Total Putts: 107 (1st); by round: 28-25-26-28
Scrambling: 12/19 (41st) at 63.16 percent
SG: Off-the-Tee: 2.508 (15th)
SG: Approach-the-Green: 3.302 (10th)
SG: Around-the-Green: 1.149 (24th)
SG: Tee-to-Green: 6.959 (3rd)
SG: Putting: 5.301 (7th)
Top 10 Performers Weekly Stats:
Deutsche Bank Champ | |||||||
Player | |||||||
312.9 (1) | 64.29% (T41) | 73.61% (T18) | 31' 6" (T6) | 63.16% (41) | 1.325 (7) | 11/ 39; 28.21% (2) | |
298.0 (22) | 71.43% (T14) | 76.39% (T10) | 33' 1" (T21) | 76.47% (8) | .281 (36) | 9/ 44; 20.45% (16) | |
300.6 (T16) | 53.57% (T66) | 72.22% (T22) | 31' 9" (T8) | 55.00% (57) | 1.334 (6) | 10/ 46; 21.74% (8) | |
310.5 (3) | 62.50% (T51) | 79.17% (T3) | 35' 0" (46) | 66.67% (T31) | .529 (T24) | 8/ 47; 17.02% (36) | |
283.8 (58) | 66.07% (T32) | 65.28% (T52) | 43' 1" (72) | 68.00% (T27) | 2.689 (1) | 13/ 45; 28.89% (1) | |
288.5 (T48) | 78.57% (T3) | 75.00% (T13) | 30' 5" (2) | 77.78% (7) | .592 (21) | 8/ 45; 17.78% (T27) | |
305.0 (9) | 64.29% (T41) | 68.06% (T38) | 34' 0" (T32) | 78.26% (6) | .966 (11) | 7/ 40; 17.50% (T30) | |
296.5 (27) | 73.21% (T10) | 69.44% (T31) | 33' 3" (23) | 63.64% (T38) | .211 (37) | 7/ 42; 16.67% (T37) | |
280.8 (63) | 64.29% (T41) | 65.28% (T52) | 32' 1" (13) | 76.00% (T10) | -.100 (45) | 3/ 35; 8.57% (69) | |
288.6 (47) | 66.07% (T32) | 68.06% (T38) | 35' 3" (49) | 69.57% (T23) | 1.626 (2) | 6/ 36; 16.67% (T37) | |
286.1 (T53) | 76.79% (T6) | 63.89% (T62) | 32' 10" (15) | 84.62% (1) | 1.370 (4) | 7/ 40; 17.50% (T30) | |
306.3 (8) | 71.43% (T14) | 75.00% (T13) | 32' 11" (T16) | 55.56% (T55) | .064 (41) | 5/ 43; 11.63% (T61) | |
281.8 (62) | 75.00% (T8) | 72.22% (T22) | 31' 9" (T8) | 70.00% (T19) | .432 (31) | 8/ 46; 17.39% (33) | |
300.3 (18) | 71.43% (T14) | 76.39% (T10) | 34' 9" (T41) | 58.82% (49) | .949 (12) | 10/ 50; 20.00% (T17) | |
Tour Average | 291.4 | 65.66% | 68.44% | 34' 5" | 62.08% | N/A | 565/ 3,595; 15.72% |
Source: PGA TOUR Media
Golf Channel Perfect Picks ($3,336,250):
Group 1: Rory McIlroy (Won): $1,530,000
Group 2: Jimmy Walker (3rd): $578,000
Group 3: Paul Casey (2nd): $918,000
Group 4: Fabian Gomez (T5): $310,250
Draw:
In total, 72 players from a field of 97 made the cut of 1-under 141:
32 (of 46) EARLY/late
40 (of 51) LATE/early
Of the FOUR top-finishers in Golf Channel, THREE were EARLY/late; ONE was LATE/early, the winner:
Rory McIlroy (Won): LATE/early
Paul Casey (2nd): EARLY/late
Jimmy Walker (3rd): EARLY/late
Fabian Gomez (T5): EARLY/late
Yahoo! Low Rounds:
R1: James Hahn; Ryan Moore (65)
R2: Kevin Chappell; Jimmy Walker (64)
R3: Louis Oosthuizen (64)
R4: Adam Scott; Rory McIlroy (65)
What We Learned:
The pre-tourney odds-favorite(s) have won just TWICE this season thru 44 events and Jordan Spieth has both of them, winning the Hyundai TOC and the DEAN & DELUCA.
Jason Day: The world No. 1 was the pre-tourney fave at 13/2 outright. He entered the week ranked 2nd in the FEC standings and remained there with a T15 on 8-under 276 (70-71-68-67). The 28-year-old, T62 at the midpoint, made a steady climb up the leaderboard over the final 36 holes after being the LAST (of 11) players to make the cut on the number.
Patrick Reed: The FEC leader (after win at The Barclays) maintained the top spot with a three-way T5 on 10-under 274 (68-67-70-69), his sixth straight week of competition. He bumps one spot to a career-best 8th in OWGR.
Kevin Chappell: The 30-year-old finished in a seven-way T8 on 9-under 275 (67-64-71-73). He was the 36-hole leader for a third time this season (RSM, RBC Heritage) and the fourth time in his career, but is still chasing his maiden TOUR title.
Jason Kokrak: The 31-year-old back-doored a T8 with a closing 66. That joins up with a T7 at The Barclays and is his fourth top 10 of the season in 27 starts, matching his career best in top 10s in a single season (2013).
Through the first two legs of the Playoffs, only two players were in the top 10 thru 54 holes in each: Tony Finau (finished T24) and Ryan Moore (T8). For Moore, a winner four weeks ago at the John Deere, it’s his second straight top 10 (T7, Barclays). The BMW will mark a seventh consecutive week of competition for the 33-year-old.
Special Section:
Rickie Fowler: One week after dropping to 0-for-4 as a 54-hole leader/co-leader and failing to secure a Ryder Cup berth on merit, the 27-year-old and defending champ finished T46 on 3-under 281 (69-71-69-72) and was never a factor.
His next shot at making the U.S. squad comes after this week’s BMW Championship.
Key dates for the U.S. Team:
- Sunday, August 28th: The Top 8 were finalized at the conclusion of The Barclays.
- Sunday, September 11th: Davis Love III will select three (of four) Captain’s Picks at the conclusion of the BMW Championship (penultimate Playoffs event). Announcement on September 12th at 10 am CT.
- Sunday, September 25th: Love III will make his final Captain’s Pick at the conclusion of the TOUR Championship.
- The Ryder Cup is scheduled for September 30th – October 2nd at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.
Up Next:
The TOUR heads to Carmel, Indiana, for the BMW Championship at the 7,567-yard par-72 (36-36) Crooked Stick GC.
Jason Day is the defending champion (Conway Farms GC), winning in wire-to-wire fashion by six over runner-up Daniel Berger.
Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and analysis as the TOUR contests the third leg of the four-event FEC Playoffs.
